Guide wheel suspension for roadrail vehicles



sept.' 2o, 1949.

Filed July 14, 1945 R. c. TowNsEND 2,482,564

GUIDE WHEEL SUSPENSION FOR ROAD-RAIL VEHICLES' 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nif@ A8 El CMM f A47# Sept. 20, 1949. A R. c. TowNsl-:ND 2,482,564

GUIDE WHEEL SUSPENSION FOR ROAD-RAIL VEHICLES Filed July 14, 1945' sheets-sheet 2 Sept. 20, 1949. R. c. TowNsEND 2,482,554

y GUIDE WHEEL SUSPENSION FOR' ROAD-RAIL VEHVICLES Filed July 14, 1945 4 sheets-sheet :s

Sept 20, 1949. R. c. T owNsEND 2,482,564

GUIDE WHEEL SUSPENSION FOR ROAD-RAIL VEHICLES Filed July 14, 19.45 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 (a y a www5/vp Vgenerally at I5 of rectangular, Y .and Supported; adjacent each. end byigur Patented Sept. 20, 1949 GUIDE WHEEL'v SUSPENSION FOR ROAD- Y 'i .RAIL VEHICLES Roy C; Townsend, La Crosse, Wis.

VApplicatimi July 14, 1945, Serial No. 695,120 f jiiclaims. (o1. 1o5-215) This invention relates generally tofimprovements in combination vehicles of the type vfor use both on highways and railways..

v Y and respectively at I6 and I'I. `Each wheel of the Such vehicles employ the'usual. pneumatic Y tired wheels for their main support on both the highway and the rails `of a` railway track, but when operating on the railway further use flanged pilot wheels which are lowered onto the rails to properly guide the vehicle therealong.

It is the primaryfobject of my present: invention to provide a retractable pilot wheel mounting and assembly which is simple, strong and readily raised and lowered to move the wheels from operative to inoperative positions as required. Another object is to provide ay pilot wheel suspension wherein the wheels, as they are lowered. to run on the rails, -are forced to take and support a part of the load of the vehicle, and with spring suspension for `the-.wheels arranged to support themdownwardly'against the rails with a shock absorbing effect.

These'and other objects of the inventionwill Vbe disclosed in the course of the following specifil.cation-reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which.

. iFig. v1 isa top planviewv of a tandem wheel,

trailentype of Avehicle embodying my invention, and illustrating the railsof a railway track in broken lines. A v

Y Fig. 2 -is a side elevation,.showing the vehicle in loperation on a vrailway and with the pilot wheels lowered,V into running engagement with -the rails.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, inverted or bottomplan View of one end of the-vehicle, showing one of theV wheel suspension assemblies, and with the pilot wheel positioning cylinders omitted for clarity.

Fig. 4fis an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical and longitudinal sectionalvview taken substantially lalong the line 4'4 in Fig. 1, showing the vehicle in operation on a highway surface with the pilot Wheels raised or retracted.

Fig. 5 is a similar view but showingthe pilot Wheels lowered into engagement withatrack rail.. f Y' zgFig. 6 is Van enlarged vertical cross section alongthe line 6 6 in Figg. J Figi-7 isan end view of the vehicle. Y Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view along the line Referring now more particularly and by refn `erence characters to the drawing, I have shown e trucks is here shown as including dualtires I8.

-tion and arrangement.

The'chassis I5 comprises side beams I9 and 20 rigidly connected by appropriately located cross bars indicated throughout at` 2I yto `form a rigid frame structure adapted to supportV any desired type of body or carrier such asl indicated fragmentarily at I in Fig. 2. I

The particular vehicle here shown for-illustrationof my present invention is similar in all essential respectsv to that kdisclosed in my copending applicatiom. Serial No. 595,680, .iiled May 25, 1945, now ,Patent Number 2,431,626. Thevehicle, kper se, will accordingly be described herein only in such detail as to make clear the application thereto of the .pilotvwheel mechanism forming the subject matter of this invention. I do not, of course, limit myself to the use of my pilot Wheel-arrangement on trailers alone and it maybe used as' well on powered equipment of this rail-highway type... j

Each truck I6 and I'I comprises longitudinally spaced, transverse axles 22 and 23 disposed beneath the chassisand at outer ends these raxles are forked to provide vertically spaced apertured ears 24 between which are pivoted the bearing portions of knucklermembers 2,5 which support the wheels I8. The arrangement is such that the wheels may all swing freely to steering angles as the vehicle travels a highway. Each truck also includes longitudinally'extending equalizers 26 which are fulcrumed intermediate their ends at ZI'between spaced side orguide members 28 depending from the frame vsides I 9'and 20. The ends .of these equalizers have guides 29 which straddle the ends of theaxles 22 and 23 so that the truck is' given, an equalizing action in a well known manner, and in a fashion similar to that shown in my prior PatentNo. 2,316,374 for Vehicle supporting truck, issued April` 13, 1943, to

ywhich attention isvinvitedfor a more complete of which there is one for, each truck lIt and I1.

These steering bars 33 and 34 extend lengthwise through the chassis and are pivotally connected at the center thereof at 35. At opposite ends the steering bars are also pivotaliy com nected at 36 to transversely oscillatable drawbars 31 and 38 to either of which, at its outer end, may be pvotally and detachably connected a tongue 39 for;,towing the vehicle. The arrangement isfsuchaspoin-td out inpmylcopeiidin'g application previously identie'd,1 that 'transverse swinging movements of the tongue 39 as the ve hicle is towed around a curve wil1 oscillate the steering bars 33 and 34 to anglethewaixioustwheeis I8 as required to properly follow the curve.

When the vehicle is used on a railway the steering mechanism is locked, with the whels"ntlie straightaway positions here shownsbyicloclirig the drawbars 31 and 38 with pins 40 to hold them against oscillating movements.

B,..and operative positions; 'm running engagem .ment withi'thetrackrilsA"'(Figs:f2' and 5) by.` oppositely extending." swing'abier'drag "ira-mes iin-dieeten"generauymtias andi-la. The name-Its comprisesarigid Vishaped membehaving sides .'41 securdby -w'eldin'g'or therwise"at 48 atlone i end` to.' the axle,arid'the'apeiroi'junetiorri559` these frame sides 41`oarres'apivtepir-5ii which extends in.a"directirm` parallelwitlr thedireetion ofQtraVeI ad'towadtheadjaeent end-ontheve- `hicle. "Thispin "50 is jpivotal'ly 'fand "slidahly mounted, for turning :movements "arid for "fore ...and-aft movements through a"bearing *si eevePE I `which hasJateral'apeitturebearings'52'byfwhich [it .is pivotally pinned .at 553 to'spaced 4bearing l brackets 54` securedtothe'nnderside ,f the'axle T22. ,The`frame`l46'scomprises paralleltransversey lspaced aridi. longitudinally `extending"side arms 55-256 which aregpvte'd ontransverse axes at opposite `ends bylpins 51 .to brackets 58" 'aiiixed ltothe L pilot wheel Aaxle "44, i 'arid "bygpins 58 'to lbrackets` 60 secured; totheoth'eraxle.

'.The foregoing .arrangementrls such'that the drag. frames'id a1id`46 wlltransmitdraftorzirag Qin; eithertdirectOn-,to he'p'lt. .whel axle 44 and will. support [the ,same forzthe required 'up "and down movements' iniretrazting.` or" 'loweringrthe lfp'ilt wheels. In such"operationthe"endspfi'the .iramesl45-46 attachditathe' axle 44 "swing'upwardly anddownwardlyg.asrequlred, Aosoi'llating about the .pivots 53 .arcl respectivelyfiirliile the 4 action of the truck upon highway road surfaces without imposing twisting strains upon the pilot wheel axle 44, while the exibility of the widely spaced and pivoted arms 55 of the frame 4? acn complishes the same purpose at this point.

The end portions of the axle 44 extend between upright longitudinally spaced guide and pick-up members 6l depending from adjacent 'cha'ssisi sides. "Ilhese guides*l Blimay'iibe arranged l to'enga'ge diagonally opposite corners f the axle 44 when it is in operative position as seen in Fig.

"" as a further support for the axle in this posi- Tf5tion',Tafancltclifeli'eve these parts of some strain.

.Aeantilever leaf spring 62 is secured by bolts v 63 crosswiseto the underside of one of the cross *beams 2| immediately above the pilot wheel axle l Maand inipanalielnipwardly spaced relation there to. The ends of the spring 62 terminate inwardly the'clfassis sides I9.and 20 and are pivotally connected by pins 64 rto depending shackles 65 'e5 #andissfpivotanymounted avcenter,Sint-ereignet- "215 yokes 'l5 allow limited up andf-"downimverts tion. The tegelesferereffoideeessdefofdeeieaui by waf separate 'f Huid zu'pressure seperated plun'gfr 80 4..1Jin'5iislidesl backv aridiorth" in bearing; sleevefzil 665 plunger-s are pivoted at 83 to the upper endsfff as required' to accommodatetheirninorforward .Y andA rearward movementlf" the 'axleilll asit" is .carried. about rarac'iuson""the arme-'55. `The movements ofthe axle*44are mot, ^of"eou1se,

A slight curve. aThebearing sleeve'5 Iby its '^universal joint.action,'about`lthe 'longitudinat axisof Jthe pinf and "the transverseaxesof thepinsli, allows the main Lwheel J a'xle "'22 ""to bsillate in vare, of Vweight of the vehicle be locked against buckling .past dead center position v(Fig. they then v'84 might have that 'the pivotal mounting 82 of the cylinders 8| z` allow them to swing upwardly and downwardly `toaccornmodate themselves to the swinging movement of the levers 84 in these operations.

' f' The vehicle is shown as equipped with conventional railway couplers 90 Vat each end for use when railway operation is desired.- The usual air brake systems may also be usedfor braking the wheels I8. Y l

During highway operationthe pilot wheels 4| course, retracted or lifted and the ventire and load is carried upon the pneumatic tired wheels I8 in the usual manner. It will be noted that the pilot wheels are raised'high enoughto provide adequate clearance for normal highway operations.

Whenthe vehicle-is to be used on railway tracks the pilot wheels are lowered by operation of the cylinders 8| until the wheels meet the rails A at `,which time they will guidel the vehicle along the track. The parts are so proportionedthat lwhen the pilot wheelsV are fully lowered the ends of the spring 62 are upwardly tensioned and a part of thefload is thus placed on thepilot wheels. This compensates for the fact that, while the weight is carried upondual-tired wheels during highway operation, only one tire of each wheel I8 can,

of course,'ride the rails so that otherwise a double load would be placed on these tires.

In the unfolded position of the toggles 61, i. e.. with the pilotwheels 4I riding the rails A, the toggle links 68 and 69 may, .if desired or required. beyond the slightly assume by stop .means embodied at any point in the linkage. For example, the links 88 and 69 mighttbe limited in their movements, the levers their movements limited or the outward travel. of the plungers '80, required to unfold the toggles, may be limited for this purpose as indicated in Fig. 5.

It will be noted that the spring B2 in addition to providing shock absorbing suspension for the pilot wheels M also causes the entire pilot wheel mechanism to be self equalizing. That is, the pilot wheel axle 44 may oscillate upwardly and downwardly at its opposite ends througha limited range due to the flexibility afforded by the spring suspension. Y.

It is understood that suitable modications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided' such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. In a vehicle of the character described having a wheeled truck including spaced main axles supported for oscillating and equalizing movements in upright transverse planes, a pilot wheel axle positioned between said main axles and carrying flanged pilot wheels at its ends, meansI supporting the pilot wheel axle for up and down adjustments with respect Yto the vehicle, and swingable frames connected to the pilot wheel axle and extending in opposite directions therefrom, one of said frames including wide spread arms pivotally connected between one main axle and the pilot wheel axle, and the other frame being connected to the other main axle with a universal joint including a lost motion device permitting swinging movement, of the #pilot 'wheellaxle on said arms transverse planes between all of said axleswhile and flexibility in upright effecting a positive connectionbetween the pilot wheel axle and said other main' axlewhen :the pilot wheels are lowered to their track engaging vehicle supporting positions. 1

2. Ina vehicle having'a main frame, laterally disposed equalizers tiltably secured to the frame, main wheel supported axles connecting corresponding ends of the equalizers, a vertically adjustable pilot wheel axle disposed between the main axles and connected to said axles by: fore and aft extending tie members, the tie member to one of the main axles being adjustable asto effective length when the pilot wheel axle is adjusted between operative and inoperativeV positions, and means for vertically adjustingthe pilot wheel axle., i'

3. In a vehicle having a main frame, laterally Vdisposed equalizers tiltably secured to the frame,

main` wheel suplziorted axles connecting corresponding ends of the equalizers, a vertically adjustable pilot wheel axle disposed between the main axles and connected to said axles byfore and aft exending tie members, the tie member to one of'the main axles being adjustable as to eiective 'length when the pilot wheel axle lis adjusted between voperative and inoperative positions, and means movably attached to the main frame for vertically adjusting the pilot wheel axle.

4. In a vehicle having a main frame, laterally disposed equalizers tiltably secured to the frame, main wheel supported axles connecting corresponding ends of the equalizers, a vertically adjustable pilot wheel axle disposed between the main axles and connected to said axles by fore and aft extending tie members, the tie member tions, and means movably attached to the main frame *for vertically adjusting the pilot wheel axle, said means including a lever mounted on the main frame and connected to a fluid actuated unit mounted on the main frame.

5.A A supporting truck for a vehicle frame comprising 'a pair of equalizers fulcrumed to the frame in lateral positions, wheel supported main axles supporting the ends of the equalizers, a pilot wheel axle disposed between the main axles and connected to at least one of them for draft purposes, an adjustable supporting mechanism for the pilot wheel axle including a toggle device connecting the same to the frame in substantially lthe transverse vertical plane of the equalizer fulcrums, and fluid operated means for actuating the toggle device to raise and lower the pilot wheel axle.

6. A supporting truck :for a vehicle frame comprising a pair of equalizers fulcrumed to the frame in lateral positions, wheel supported main axles supporting theV ends of the equalizers, a pilot wheel axle disposed between the main axles and connected to at least one of them for draft purposes, and adjustable supporting mechanism for the pilot wheel axle including a cushioned toggle connection between the frame and pilot wheel axle, a piston-cylinder unit on the frame, and a lever device carried by the frame and connected to transmit motion from the pistoncylinder unit to the toggle connection.

7. A supporting truck for a vehicle frame comprising a pair of wheel supported main axles,

iltermediateltlfieir'efids'-tofthe fifameg a'vertically aidj'ustable pilot iwlieelfaxledisposedfbetween the imain" ankles;y a' linkage-device connecting the"y pilot attached to'. thefralne; an I power transmitting lever connected at one-re dntcrtl'iepower= member "iandt'another en'dvtothe'linkagedevice .to raise fariclower theipiloifwifiellxle'fbetween themalin "axles l Y f8. iiA"-sfllpportineV tr'iickf fonia-vehicle frame comi prising 1 a J-pair vof L'nvvheel 1=supported 'amain axles, -ffeqia'llzers *connecting the iaXles 'f and v fulcnwmed intermediate theirfends toftlie fra-me; -a=vertically frmounted or'vertical fadjustment withmrespectto '-thexframwa sspenson sprng;-extending tra/ns- "verselyof' therrame overt-he pilot wheelnaxleand attached intermediate its ends to the framefapa-ir fziteggle flink devices connectngthe respective dj-ustableiplot Wheel axle-disposed'between the `=151:0i1.ter :ends-fof the?suspensionzspring-toffopposite -inain a'xles',fa linkage devicefcbnnecting lthe pilot Wneelr'aXle to'ithemana fame,'1 ai-pewernieinber :attached y to the earne,=1andfa power: transmitting lever connected at one end to thepowernember eend partsV :of they pilot AWheel?A axle;- and. -ud'Sopeifatedf mechanism: fion-,actuating the :toggle ink =devies,aidfmeclaanismfincluding Ipiston #cylinder IYmemloes fand leveracting ldevices :mountedflon the :main frame. f l ROYnC. v-TOWNSEND.

f REFERENCES effenY 'lne'fllovving' references are of 'ife'cod winflatie the: foret and aft -WieelsAian-d hav-ing; pilot-wheels axle for up'V and-fdown ifovement;al generally'ver- ;:30

f tical toggle mechanemconnecting-the pilotfwheel axle to the main frame, a. generally vertical lever u fulcrumed A' en trl'ie-I frame @and sconnected fat its flower end lto -theteggle mechanism, fand faf -uid -acti-lated rmsten-cylinder mit @attached f at one i335 end-toY tlievehicleframes-and.;h atits votherf end-to Ythe upper errd-oi=-the lever to=actuatethe'latter. \10.fIn coin-binati-onWitn-.avehicle having su@ aperti-ng rwlfieels, ya :pilot :vv-heel :axle .extending --transversely un-der the -Vehicle y-adjaceI-itthe :210

wheels 'and' 'amounted for vertical elclvustmentwith resp-ect to'thezfiiamef-a-fsus-pension'lspving extendlfi-ng transverselyothe frame over-the pilot -wheel 

